-A.S. I’ve been listening to the new Coldplay album, Viva La Vida, since it was released June 17th. I’ve never been an avid fan of the band, although I am familiar with most if not all of their hits from the last couple of years. I even saw part of their live DVD a while back and remember being impressed with how hard they rocked live.

The thing was, nobody (myself included) ever wanted to admit they liked Coldplay. We have Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd to thank for that one. No one wanted to own up to liking Coldplay for fear of being called gay due to their hilarious improved “You know how I know you’re gay?” scene in 40 Year Old Virgin.Last week Zack’s G-chat status involved asking if he was gay for listening to the new Coldplay disc. I too admitted that I had been enjoying the album for the last couple of weeks. While the fact that we feel the need to justify our listening to Coldplay is mildly pathetic, we decided to tell the world just why Coldplay isn’t gay.

To start, gay or not, Viva La Vida is a great album. Producer Brian Eno took the band in directions they had not previously explored. The soundscape is pushed in ways that only Brian Eno can. They introduced an instrumental track to open the album, and even opened up their music to some world sounds. Sure, the Coldplay sound that everybody has come to know and love still exists, but this is a new and improved band. Last time I checked, great rock music wasn’t gay (except for that whole David Bowie/Lou Reed glam rock phase).Also, lets not forget that front-man Chris Martin is married to one of the more attractive actresses is the business, Gwyneth Paltrow (even if they did name their kid after a fruit). Martin has also contributed with two of the biggest giants on the hip hop scene in Jay Z’s “Beach Chair” and Kanye West’s “Homecoming.” Sinatra performed a song about Chicago too. Nobody called him gay.That’s not all Martin has going for him in the “not gay” category. He had not one, but two cameos in Shaun of the Dead and even appeared in an episode of Extras. Not to mention the fact that Martin is also in Johnny Cash’s video for “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” You have to admit that Johnny Cash is as far away from Brokeback Mountain as it gets.

Please know that I am writing this article as lightheartedly as I possibly can, and in no way mean to offend anybody. A funny scene in an even funnier movie was ruining good music for people, and we just wanted to reverse the tides.